Moy, 61, was executive director of Tarrywile Park for about 20 years -- nearly the entire lifetime of the park as a public space. She died Saturday after a long struggle with breast cancer.

Under her leadership -- which was never for the glory of Sandy Moy, always for the benefit of Tarrywile, officials said -- the park grew from its original 535 acres to 722 acres, making it one of the largest urban parks in the state.

It now has 21 miles of hiking trails through its meadows, around its ponds and up to Mootry Peak, one of the highest points in the Danbury and one of its best overlooks. The 15-mile Ives Trail crosses the park.

Tarrywile's Victorian mansion has been renovated. City groups meet there, people get married there.

There is a working greenhouse and formal gardens and a barn that serves as a nature center and gathering place. Moy had a hand in all of this.

"She gave public service an awfully good name," said City Planner Dennis Elpern.

"She was there from the git-go," said landscape architect Jane Didona, who worked with Moy on Tarrywile's master plan. "She was instrumental in all its changes."

Didona said Moy never indulged in theatrics to further Tarrywile's blossoming.

"There was no drama," Didona said. "It was all purely professional. But there was a lot of caring to it."

The city purchased Tarrywile from the Parks family in 1985 for $4.7 million. Charles Darling Parks, the president of American Hatters and Furriers Co. Inc., was responsible for creating the estate, which included a dairy farm and orchard.

In 1989, the city created the Tarrywile Park Authority to manage the park and mansion. Moy became its executive director in the early to mid-1990s, according to Gene Eriquez, the city's mayor at the time.

"Sandy was dedicated to Tarrywile Park and its property and its beauty," Eriquez said. "It's a wonderful natural resource."